Rivermarket.coop Customer Feedback From Currents
C E L E B R A T I N G 4 0 Y E A R S I N T H E S T. C R O I X V A L L E Y !rivermarket.coopAugust-September 2018Customer Feedback from Currentsby Mead Stone, General Manager since2003 and River Market OwnerI’ll let you write my last article! Theseare your responses to my question,“What advice do you have for the nextGM?” We are newer to the co-op but it didnot take me long to know who you were! Ilove that. You were in the store most daysI have been in plus so helpful and friendly.You met and visited with my 90 year oldfather – Roger – 6’7” tall. I also noticedthat you never hesitated to help out youremployees. Someone like you would be agreat next GM. Be a presence in the co-op. Get to knowyour customers and appreciate them andtheir loyalty. Mead was a great example ofthis. Get out there and talk to customers andowners. Know about what co-op shoppersare there for – local, organic, responsiblysourced food. Keep the staff happy andhelpful. Keep workers being friendly tocustomers. A while back that wasn’t thecase. Don’t fire good workers. Listen to your members. Be creative.Love your job. Love your employees. Careabout the future of the co-op. Smile! Bring back all staff meetings. Bring inmore co-op deals – very frustrating toshoppers not really knowing what willbe at the coop. Continue efforts to bringmembership / ownership to more lowerincome members of our community. Findways for shoppers to special order saleitems we don’t carry, without having toorder a case. I hope that they will be trained by thebest. (Mead) You have done a great job! Remember to stay connected to thepeople you work with and for, throughconversation and taking the time to get toknow. Best of luck and I look forward toyour success! Focus on leadership with caring aboutindividuals (staff, members, customers,community). Keep the laughter aliveand River market (make it a fun placeto work). Focus on mission especiallywith changing times, also during yourtransition period. Stay strong in who youare – your authentic self. Don’t change management style. Lovewhat the co-op offers. P.S. – bathrooms?P.S.S. – kick ice castle folks out of co-opparking. Know the strengths, opportunitiesand challenges facing the coop. Supportthe positive and constructive cultureMead has created. Know what makes thecoop unique and successful. Know whatmembers want. Understand what qualityfood is. Stay abreast of noncommercial,non-industrial, holistic fooddevelopments. Stay price competitive.Balance the books. I think it’s important to spend timetalking to customers in the store.Talk frequently in the store with youremployees. They have a close watchfuleye of the store’s business. Be present witha smile and introduce yourself. Thank you Keep doing what works! Don’t make a lot of changes. Please follow what Mead has done anddon’t change anything for a while. Maybeany changes very slowly. Ask lots ofquestions. Ask opinions of customers andBoard. Have the marketing department talkwith the end user (cashier) – re.: standingdiscounts. The next GM has to be friendly toeveryone in the community. Mead wasso great at this. Also to keep the co-op asgreat as it is now. I would like Maren to be the next GM. Keep an open mind – the organicindustry is getting watered down andwe need to keep on top of what truly is“organic”. Make changes that need tobe changed – not those that don’t needchange – some things do work.I M P O R TA N T D AT E SAUGUSTWellness Wednesday. Aug 1Blood Drive. Aug 7SEPTEMBERLabor Day (regular hrs).Sept 3Wellness Wednesday.Sept 5
August-September 20182rivermarket.coopGM Search Committeewww.rivermarket.coopUpdateCurrentsMead StoneGeneral Managergm@rivermarket.coopAndre BessetteMarketing and Membershipinfo@rivermarket.coopFor change of address or to inquireabout membership call 651439-0366.River Market Community Co-op221 N. Main St.Stillwater, MN 55082For employment opportunitiesvisit our website or check inthe in-store postingAll River Market Members are welcometo attend monthly board meetings.Meetings are generally held thesecond Tuesday of each month from6:30–8:30 p.m. in the River Market Loftspace across Main Street.The Board of Directors welcomemembers at the meetings.River MarketBoard of DirectorsAlison Komarek, PresidentAlison.komarek@frontiernet.netChris Jensen, Vice President612-735-3681jensenchris4@gmail.comMatt Ludt, Secretarymattludt@yahoo.comNate Hart, Treasurer651-307-0299Nhart24@gmail.comCarolyn BabiliusBrock EhnertDan PuratyApril RustKellie SethFor general board questionsemail board@rivermarket.coopAs of this writing in late June, the searchcommittee has reviewed, scored, and interviewedcandidates to narrow the original pool of 50applicants down to two strong candidates to bepresented to the board of directors and offeredfinal full interviews in July. The board is planningto spend a day with each finalist candidate whichwill include an interview with the full board ofdirectors, an interview with the managementteam, and a short meet and greet with interestedstaff and owners. If all has stayed on schedule, bythe time you are reading this, the interviews willbe completed and the board of directors will haveextended an offer to one of the candidates anda start date for our next GM will be in the works.Please check the website for announcements.-Barbara Crist-Nepp Search Committee Member
rivermarket.coop3August-September 2018Customer Feedback from Currents (continued from page one) Continue monthly specials atcompetitive prices. Maintain excellentproduce section. Our paper membershipcards are very worn. Add Tessamae saladdressings to store. (Cub dropped themafter remodel ). Don’t lose sight of the co-op values;steer the ship toward co-op ideals. Keep up the great work that is inplace. Keep prices competitive and morediscount options for owners! Continue to offer the wide variety ofitems that you do. Please look for moreitems that don’t contain sugar in anyform – even honey. Trying to find bacon,sausage and ham, for example, withoutsugar is near impossible. It would be niceto have another River Market co-oplocation in northern WA County – likein Scandia. Even a place that has someessentials play a place where people couldorder items and have them delivered to alocation in Scandia would be wonderfulfor seniors and those with mobilitychallenges, this would be very helpful. Please consider reducing the age tobe a senior shopper and eligible for theTuesday discount. Get more folks in thehabit of shopping so as to increase thesales volume. Keep the produce local andorganic and high quality. This shouldbe an integral component of the RiverMarket branding. The new GM should take a page fromyour book. You have done a great job! Spend actual time in the store, beingvisible to shoppers and staff, especiallyduring GM’s early weeks. Try to learnowners’ names, possibly asking owners towear throw-away paper name tags whenthey shop. For how long? Let GM decide.Many of us have difficulty rememberingnames; GM may also! To have a friendly place and employeesand make it a family place. Firm, kind leadership is most oftensuccessful leadership. More coupons would be nice. Classesare very good – could there be a classfor young students about health / sleep /exercise.CO Certified Organic; OP (or somedesignation) organic practices (withoutofficial organic certification). I will certainly miss Mead’s leadershipand his ability to manage employees. Iam happy for him, but concerned for thecoop. I don’t want to see a repeat of the 5years prior to Mead. My question, why didthe Board wait so long to begin the hiringprocess, as it will take about 6 monthson average to replace a managementemployee? If I can find the same items elsewhere(store, online) and for less, there is a goodchance I’ll go elsewhere. That’s why it’simportant to carry stuff that is unique. Roof top seating or more outdoorseating. I would love to find more variety ofvegan “dairy” foods – such as Miyoko’scheeses and vegan bakery items (cookies,bars, etc.). Overall, I love the co-op andprefer to shop here over anywhere intown! The road that is less traveled isimportant too. Do what you can to make prices morecompetitive. Love to shop here butit’s hard when organics are 20% lessexpensive elsewhere. Do something to keep employees in thedeli! Keep the employees happy and laughing– it is a PLEASURE to shop at a happyplace! Keep our senior weekly discounts!Like Mead, greet every customer with abig smile – like you’re happy to see us.Don’t raise prices. Be open to employeeand customer suggestions. Stay a longtime as GM. Do you really want to behere? We really want you to stay! Keep the friendly staff – it is obviousthat individuality is encouraged. Like thatstaff deepens relationships with customers.I love the new deli. Be visible! Customers need to know youand develop a rapport. Post a board either in store or onlineof which fresh produce (veggie, fruits,meat, fish, chicken, cheese, eggs) is oneor more of these designations: L Local; Make sure that everyone who writesup a bulk / special order slip fills itout completely, correctly and neatly(readable). I have been charged the wrongamount at times and charged taxes onnon-taxable items. Each time, have hadto have it fixed and make a trip to getrefunds. Don’t change anything too quickly. Geta good feel for the store to see what isworking and where improvements can bemade. You can please many but never all.Think globally, act locally. Bumpersticker. It’s a rare opportunity I’ve hadworking at River Market. I feel that I’vebeen touched by thousands of people,staff, shoppers, and vendors alike. Allright here, right within walking distanceof my home on the North Hill. Lots ofemployees; maybe just stopping to gettheir bearings on life, maybe unexpectedlybecoming grocers after a dozen years.Lots of customers; always able to pick meup during a rough patch, able to makeme laugh and smile. And lots of vendorsworking insane amounts just to bringyou something great to eat and to opendoorways never before imagined. Andto the many friends who’ve managed toput up with the plain catastrophe of mypersonality, time and time again, I thankyou.Thanks, everyone –it’s been an honor.
August-September 2018From Your BoardNathan Hart, Treasurer - Board of DirectorsIn the past few editions of Currents you have likely noticed somecommon themes. Mead has addressed ongoing and increasedcompetition. Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme and Hyvee have allopened stores within arms reach of our community. Additionally,there seems to be “natural”, organic and “local” food itemsavailable everywhere from the corner gas station to the hardwarestore. We have also seen major changes in the dynamics ofdowntown Stillwater. With all of these changes and increasedcompetition, the Co-op has seen some operational challenges.The Board has been aware of decreases in net income overthe past eight quarters. Cash on hand has also had someturbulence over the past six months. Our GM has been doingan exceptional job at mitigating the losses by reducing expenses,but not at the expense of the store as a whole. As a retail grocerystore there are two major ways to decrease expenses. One is tocut labor hours and the other is to reduce inventory. As shoppersI don’t think you want to see either one happen. Bare shelvesand fewer helpful employees does not make for a pleasantshopping experience. River Market has been navigating thedelicate balance of decreasing expenses while maintaining anexceptional shopping experience.What does all of this mean? Are we rearranging the deck chairson the Titanic? Emphatically, NO!We have a line of credit for emergency use that we have not hadto utilize at this point. We have been paying our staff and ourbills without falling behind. We have shown a slow increase incash every month this year. We are adding new owners whilestrategizing on new ways to learn and grow. Most importantly, westill have you - our marvelous owners! You continue to shop andspend your hard earned dollars at the River Market CommunityCo-op. By doing this you are supporting a Cooperative way ofbusiness. You are contributing to the sustainable future of localgrowers, producers, and organizations. River Market has a strongpresence in our community and offers food that is second tonone. With your help we can beat back some of the infringingcompetition and not only survive, but thrive!rivermarket.coop4Annual MeetingRiver Market’s Annual Meeting will beheld on Saturday, October 6th at the ZephyrTheater just north of the co-op in downtownStillwater. Owners can plan to arrivebeginning at 5:45 pm, and the businessmeeting will start at 6:30 pm with a mealcatered by Holy Land to follow.Tickets are 5 for the meal and include a freedrink, and can be purchased in the storebeginning September 1st. Learn more aboutyour co-op, mingle with fellow owners andenjoy a delicious meal!The Zephyr Theater is located north of RiverMarket at 601 Main St N with parkingavailable. No ticket is required to attend thebusiness meeting.Board ElectionsImportant voting documents will be arrivingin mid-August! Watch your mailboxes for yourpaper ballot as well as instructions for onlinevoting (your choice: paper or online). It willinclude information about our 4 candidatesfor the Board of Directors and everything youneed to know to participate in the annualelection.In addition to electing your Board of Directorsyou will also have the opportunity to vote forthe 6 local non-profit organizations we willdonate to throughout the coming year!
rivermarket.coopOur August-September RoundingUp Recipient is the PollinatorFriendly Alliance! The PollinatorFriendly Alliance (PFA) is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven, pollinatorconservation organization basedright here in Stillwater. Helpingcommunities, citizens and businessesprotect pollinators through increasinghabitat, decreasing pesticide use,education and awareness aboutpollinator decline and conservationhas been their mission since theirinception in 2014. You can findthe PFA installing and maintainingpollinator habitats around MN,working with businesses to implementpollinator friendly practices, and attheir own Polli-Nation Festival. Theyalso generously donated the raisedbed pollinator garden in the little parkbehind the store.Please ask your cashier to round yournext purchase up to the nearest dollarfor the PFA and our local pollinators!5August-September 2018
August-September 2018rivermarket.coop6Classes at River MarketUPCOMING CLASSESAT THE RIVER MARKETClasses are held at the Loft, unlessotherwise specified. The Loft islocated at 218 North Main Street,on the second floor above Imagesof the Past and Present, directlyacross Main St. from River Market.Entrance is located on the southside of the building. The Loft hasa room capacity of 21 people.Parking is not allowed in the spacenext to the building; please usestreet parking or the River Marketparking lot.Please pre-register in-store atRiver Market, phone (651) 4390366 or email Ola Schmelig ateducation@rivermarket.coop. Signup early to reserve a seat and helpensure the class is held.Payment due at registration. Weaccept all major credit cards.If you need to cancel, pleasenotify us at least 3 days inadvance for a full refund.Note: River Market does notnecessarily agree with the ideas,opinions or materials given duringthe above presentations andclasses.New instructors and class ideasfor upcoming classes are alwaysappreciated.If you’re interested in teachinga class, email Ola Schmelig ateducation@rivermarket.coopBoard of Directors MeetingTuesday, August 14 and September 116-9pmBoard of Directors meetings areheld the second Tuesday of eachmonth. River Market owners arewelcome to attend. Call 651-4390366 or email info@rivermarket.coop if you plan to attend.Yes, You CAN Hoop!Tuesday, August 21, Tuesday,September 4 and 256-7pmLooking for new ways to becomeactive? Learn a new skill? Do youlike dancing? Want to have funand forget you are actually gettingexercise? Then join us! Freespirited, non-intimidating, relaxed,fun atmosphere, no experiencenecessary. Hooping provides anenormous range of health benefits,both mentally and physically. Inthis class you will learn the basics ofhooping and how to hoop like noone is watching – a very importantelement. We will try differentways of waist hooping, movingwhile inside the hoop, and possiblysome fun hoop dance moves.Comfortable, non-bulky clothesare best. Bring water and a hoop ifyou have one, though there will beNice’n’Big dance hoops providedas well.Presented by Mimy Constantine,Hula Hoop Instructor. The class isfree for any co-op owners and 5 fornon-owners and free for children upto 12 years old!Growing Garlic 101Thursday, August 236-8pmGarlic is really easy to grow andif you plant it mid-October, you’llbe rewarded with spring garlic,garlic scapes and garlic clovesthroughout the whole summer nextyear. Learn about soil preparation,garlic growing season, harvesting,curing and storing garlic. You willalso learn the difference betweenhardneck and softneck varieties.Presented by Don Slinger whohas been growing garlic for manyyears and presently grows about 40varieties.The class is free for any co-opowners and 5 for non-owners.Preserving Herbs – MakingPesto and Herb ButtersSaturday, September 811am-12:30pmEven though most herbs areavailable for purchase year-round,you can preserve your own gardengrown herbs by freezing or dryingthem. Other techniques includemaking pesto, herb butters, andherb salt. In this class Maren Smithwill share her recipes for basic pestoand herb butters and Ola GrabeusSchmelig will show you an easy wayto make an herb salt.The class is free for any co-opowners and 5 for non-owners. Freefor children up to 12 years old!Late Season GardeningThursday, September 136-7:30pmThe frost has come and it’s time toquit gardening, right? Not a chance!Join Sara Morrison, owner of TheBackyard Grocery, for a look atcontinued harvest, fall planting,putting the garden to bed, fallgarden preparation and more. Thecold weather doesn’t have to meanthe end of your garden activities.The class is free for any co-opowners and 5 for non-owners.Seed Saving 101Thursday, August 96-7:30pmJoin Sara Morrison, owner of TheBackyard Grocery, at the North HillCommunity Garden in Stillwaterfor a hands-on class about savingseeds. Learn the best ways to select,separate and store seeds from yourfavorite crops. Discover moreabout wet’ seeds and ‘dry’ seeds,the difference between heirloomand hybrid, and the secrets of whythings ‘bolt’. The Garden is locatedat 1004 Martha Street North on thecorner of Aspen Street West andNorth Martha Street in Stillwater.If it rains, we will meet in theclassroom at River Market.The class is free for any co-opowners and 5 for non-owners.We asked you to votefor the next ownerspecials, and you did!The following items willbe on owner special inAugust: ORGANIC VALLEY CHEESE FIELD ROAST VEGETARIANSAUSAGES BULK COFFEE STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES(DOLMAS) GARDEN OF LIFE RAW, VANILLAORGANIC PROTEIN POWDER
rivermarket.coop7August-September 2018Ask us anythingQ: “Tell us about the ‘Coop Deals’flyer – are you obligated to have all theproducts shown?”Q: “How do you determine whichfresh produce to buy? (For exampleseasonal mushrooms)”A: Great question! The Co op Dealsflyer is a regional (and national)flyer put together by NCG (NationalCooperative Grocers). They work outthe deals with vendors and supplythe flyers to participating co-ops.We’re not obligated to carry all theproducts shown, but we do our bestto have as many of them as possible.We have focused on this even morerecently, and if you see an item youwish we had please mention it to anyemployee!A:It’s not easy – our produce expertshave their work cut out for them!One of our top criteria is quality; wework closely with our farmers anddistributors to learn what is freshestand best tasting. We prioritize local,followed by Organic, based on ourowners’ values. One of the hardestaspects is knowing what shopperswould like to buy from us that we don’tcurrently stock. Myriad options existfor what we could bring in to sell, butknowing what people want to buy canbe tricky. We’re always listening!AUGUSTOwner CouponOne coupon per owner number per month5% DISCOUNTOwner number Valid 8/1/18Date used to 8/31/18Cashier’s InitialsPLU 855% OffMonthlyOwnerDiscountQ: “Is there an age limit to thechildren’s free fruit?”A: We don’t have any rules aroundthe free fruit – our intention is to givekids a healthy snack while they’re inshopping.Q: Is it safe to purchase bulk items ifyou need to eat gluten free?A: If it’s very important you avoidgluten, we can’t assure products inbulk haven’t been exposed to it. Withself-serve bins, a small amount ofcross contamination from neighboringproducts is certainly possible.SEPTEMBEROwner CouponOne coupon per owner number per month5% DISCOUNTOwner number Valid 9/1/18Date used to 9/30/18Cashier’s InitialsPLU 85
PRESORTEDSTANDARDU.S. Postage PAIDPermit #1961Twin Cities, MN221 North Main Street,Stillwater, MN 55082e-mail: info@rivermarket.coop651-439-0366Open daily 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.Ask Us Anything!Write your comments in the box below and feel free toadd a separate piece of paper. Give this feedback to anycashier and get a dollar off your order.1 off Give to any cashier foryour order.PLU 222
August-September 2018 2 rivermarket.coop Currents Mead Stone General Manager gm@rivermarket.coop Andre Bessette Marketing and Membership info@rivermarket.coop
BUILDING A CHICKEN COOP Option One: Remodel an Existing Building If you have a small outbuilding, garden shed, or corner of an existing barn, any of these can semi- easily be converted into a coop. Option Two: Building a Chicken Coop from Scratch Chicken coop plans abound online, and if you are sorta handy with tools and have no existing
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